Ten Year Stretch

by Martin Edwards

  ‘Why would Mrs Paynton call you in?’ Drake went on, as relentless as Fate. ‘If what you say is right—and it’s a big if—surely it would have been better to leave the gardener’s body where it was, and fill up the pit.’

  ‘What if the mother didn’t know?’

  ‘Know what?’

  ‘About anything, apart from that five-letter word on the lawn. I think she was telling the truth: she saw it only this morning and she told my wife about it at church. She just wanted to make trouble for Michael, the gardener. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let me go inside the garage in the first place. The dead dog really took her by surprise. And she had no idea that Mike’s body was in the inspection pit. You see, the smell of the dog covered up his smell.’

  ‘Then why did you look down there?’

  Thornhill hesitated. He had a headache. What was instinct? The sum of experience with the preliminary workings rubbed out of your memory? Had there been something about that heavy, suet-faced girl and the way she had looked down when she had asked to see the dog’s body, as if she had already known that it was lying on the garage floor? Or perhaps it had been the nature of the smell itself. He said, ‘The smell was too bad for just one little body.’

  There was a silence at the other end of the line. Then Drake said: ‘Why didn’t the girl stop her mother from talking to you?’

  ‘Sylvia didn’t know about the word. Mrs Paynton had only just seen it on the lawn herself. Then she met my wife at church and acted on impulse.’

  ‘Bitch,’ Drake said, taking Thornhill by surprise. ‘The gardener got that bit right, at least. Mind you, if what you say is right, I haven’t got much sympathy for him.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘The poor bloody dog. How the hell do you prove all this?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Thornhill paused, dabbing his forehead with his handkerchief. ‘Yet. I need to think about that.’

  ‘You think too much for a copper,’ Drake said. ‘I’ll run over there now. Kirby’s still at the house?’

  ‘Yes, sir. And a couple of SOCOs. The doc’s on his way. I’ll meet you there.’

  ‘No, you won’t, Richard. I’ll talk to you later.’

  ‘But, sir—’

  ‘You’re on leave. Go home.’

  The normality of it dropped over Thornhill like an old coat.

  The smell of the Sunday roast coloured the kitchen. Edith was darning socks, sitting in the chair by the window. Their younger daughter, Susie, was at the table, laboriously colouring in a rainbow with bright waxy crayons that flaked on the page.

  Edith looked up, needle in hand, smiling and raising her eyebrows. ‘You were a long time.’

  There was a question there. He glanced at Susie, then back to Edith. They both knew the answer to it would have to wait.

  ‘You know how these things drag on,’ he said, his voice carefully neutral. ‘Hard to get away.’

  He stared out of the window. Elizabeth, their elder daughter, was under the apple tree. She was sitting in his deckchair with a book on her lap, twisting her hair in the fingers of her left hand. His own book and the newspaper had gone.

  ‘Have you eaten?’

  Thornhill became aware of the gaping void inside him. He felt suddenly lightheaded. ‘No.’

  ‘I left yours in the oven,’ she said. ‘It’ll have dried out. But I could warm it up again with some gravy.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’ He was empty but he wasn’t hungry. Not now.

  ‘Or I could cut you something from the joint. There’s quite a lot left.’

  ‘Perhaps later.’ His stomach lurched at the memory of what he had seen in the garage.

  Edith put down her darning and stood up. ‘You must have something. I’ll put the kettle on.’

  He followed her into the scullery.

  Under cover of filling the kettle at the sink, she said, ‘You look awful. And you were gone for ages. Was it bad?’

  ‘Bad enough.’

  ‘What was on the lawn?’ She put the lid on the kettle. ‘A four-letter word or something?’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘It had five letters.’

  She lit the gas ring. ‘It doesn’t sound so very bad. Not in the grand scheme of things. So why were you so long?’

  The door was open. Thornhill looked down the garden. Elizabeth, their elder daughter, threw her book on the grass with some force, as if it had suddenly offended her. She stood up and, still fiddling with her hair, stalked towards the house. Why? There were too many mysteries in his life.

  ‘It wasn’t just the five-letter word,’ he said to Edith. ‘It was what it meant.’

  Afterword

  It has been said that anthologies are not profitable enterprises. True or not, No Exit Press and Poisoned Pen Press generously agreed to publish this collection in the UK and U.S. respectively. All the royalties from this publication go to the Royal National Institute of Blind. We are also grateful to the exceptional contributors, and to Martin Edwards, one of the most respected anthology editors—and authors—in the business.

  When it came to writing this afterword, I wasn’t sure if it should be a brief history of CrimeFest for those who are unaware of what it is, or whether it should be a thank-you to those who have made the convention and this anthology possible. But when I started writing, it quickly became clear that the two are inextricably linked.

  CrimeFest came about because of the one-off visit to the UK of the American crime fiction convention Left Coast Crime (LCC) in 2006. During a visit to Janet Rudolph’s wonderful Berkeley reading group in California in 2004, one of the attendees mentioned that LCC was looking for people to organise the convention two years on. ‘Would Bristol be of interest as a location?’ I asked. ‘But Bristol isn’t on the left coast,’ was an initial response. When I pointed out that it was on the left coast of England (and, arguably, Europe) and reminded them of the rich history of British crime fiction, the offer was quickly accepted. Not feeling able to take on the project by myself, I was very lucky that Myles Allfrey said it sounded like something he would be interested in. Even more fortunate was that Donna Moore, whom we invited as the UK Fan Guest of Honour, only agreed to accept if she could help. We asked Donna to do the programming, and Myles and I realise it was one of the best decisions we made. It was a huge relief when the 2006 Bristol Left Coast Crime was declared a great success, and that was supposed to be it. Done. Over. Except…

  A few weeks later, Beverley Cousins, then Crime Fiction Editor at Penguin, asked if we had considered continuing the convention, as she could sign up half a dozen or more crime writers for less than the cost of sponsoring one at similar events, and colleagues at other publishers followed suit. At the same time, authors also requested we continue, as it was the only large-scale crime-writing event in the UK where a commercially published writer could have a panel without being invited. (To this day, that still seems to be the case.) Readers also asked if we were going to continue, as it had been the first convention since Dead on Deansgate in the nineties where all participants were able to celebrate crime fiction in a friendly, informal and—most importantly—inclusive atmosphere.

  As we had enjoyed organising LCC, the calls to continue easily persuaded us. To avoid confusion with the ongoing U.S. convention, we relaunched the Bristol event as CrimeFest. Bill Selby amended his 2006 Skeleton Bob logo, and agreeing to return were Liz Hatherell, who has been in charge of the registration desk every year (as well as proofing the programmes with Thalia Proctor); Jennifer Muller, who creates all the programmes; and Sue Trowbridge as the website mistress. And so the core team was formed.

  In putting together LCC and CrimeFest, we received help from many people. The advice that LCC central committee members Enid and Tom Schantz, and Bill and Toby Gottfried, had for us was very helpful—Bill and Toby continue to be two of our most loyal attendees. Copied from LCC are tr
ips, an idea from Dana Stabenow and her team for the 2001 Alaska convention, and which Nicky Godfrey-Evans of Tours of Discovery arranges on behalf of CrimeFest. Working with Janet Laurence when she chaired the first years of Dead on Deansgate inspired me to copy her organisational skills for CrimeFest. Basically we borrowed the best from the best.

  Along the way there have been many other supporters. Barry Forshaw, Maggie Griffin, Peter Guttridge, and Maxim Jakubowski have advised us on, or helped us secure, some amazing authors. David Headley and Goldsboro Books have supported CrimeFest in many other ways as well, and it is fair to say that David and Edwin Buckhalter’s involvement ensured the convention’s continued existence. Add to these names the most recent benefactor and long-time delegate Jane Burfield, who also made this anthology possible.

  Of course, we wouldn’t have made it past year one without the ongoing support of authors and their agents, booksellers, publishers, and, most importantly, readers. The greatest thing about ten years of CrimeFest is the friendships that have been forged. This anthology is a thank you to all those friends.

  Adrian Muller

  CrimeFest co-host

  Biographical Notes

  Bill Beverly teaches at Trinity University in Washington, DC. His debut novel, Dodgers (No Exit Press), won the Gold Dagger and John Creasey New Blood Dagger from the CWA, the British Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His dissertation on criminal fugitives became the book On the Lam: Narratives of Flight in J. Edgar Hoover’s America.

  authorbillbeverly.com

  Simon Brett has published over a hundred books, many of them crime novels, including the Charles Paris, Fethering, Mrs Pargeter, and Blotto and Twinks series. His extensive comedy writing includes the series After Henry, which was successful on both radio and television. In 2014 he received the Crime Writers’ Association’s highest award, the Diamond Dagger, and in 2016 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature.

  simonbrett.com

  Lee Child has more than a dozen number-one best sellers under his belt. Forbes calls the Jack Reacher series ‘The Strongest Brand in Publishing.’ Not bad for a guy out of work and on the dole when he first conceived of being a writer. The fictional Reacher is a kind-hearted soul who allows Lee lots of spare time for reading, listening to music, Aston Villa, and the Yankees.

  leechild.com

  Ann Cleeves is the author of the Vera Stanhope and Shetland series, both of which have been adapted into acclaimed television dramas. She has written thirty-one novels and is translated into as many languages. In 2006 Raven Black, was awarded the Duncan Lawrie CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, and in 2017, Ann received the Crime Writers’ Association’s Diamond Dagger.

  anncleeves.com

  Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one best-selling author who has written thirty-nine novels, three collections of short stories, a nonfiction law book, and is a lyricist of a country-Western album. He’s received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards. His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller, The Broken Window, and a stand-alone, Edge, were also nominated for that prize.

  jefferydeaver.com

  Martin Edwards has published eighteen novels, including the Lake District Mysteries, most recently The Dungeon House. The Golden Age of Murder won the Edgar, Agatha, HRF Keating and Macavity awards. He has edited thirty-seven crime anthologies, is series consultant for the British Library’s Crime Classics, and has won the CWA Short Story Dagger, the CWA Margery Allingham Prize, and the Poirot award. He is president of the Detection Club and Chair of the CWA.

  martinedwardsbooks.com

  Catherine Edwards was born in Cheshire, and educated locally and at Lincoln College, Oxford, where she read German and Italian. A journalist, writer, and translator, she speaks five languages and lives in Stockholm, where she writes about European news, politics, and culture in her role as Europe editor at The Local, an online news network.

  Kate Ellis was born and brought up in Liverpool. Described by The Times as ‘a beguiling author who interweaves past and present,’ she is best known for her DI Wesley Peterson series. She has been shortlisted for the CWA Short Story Dagger and for the CWA Dagger in the Library. Her first novel in a new trilogy set in the aftermath of World War I, A High Mortality of Doves, was published in 2016.

  kateellis.co.uk

  Peter Guttridge is a novelist, critic, writing teacher, and chairperson/interviewer at a wide range of literature festivals and events. He is a former director of the Brighton Literature Festival and the current co-director of Books by the Beach, the Scarborough Book Festival. For eleven years he was the Observer newspaper’s crime fiction critic. He is the award-winning author of twelve novels, two works of nonfiction, and numerous short stories.

  peterguttridge.com

  Sophie Hannah is an internationally best-selling crime fiction writer. Her crime novels have been translated into thirty-four languages and published in fifty-one countries. In 2014 and 2016, Sophie published The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket, the first new Hercule Poirot mysteries since Agatha Christie’s death, both of which were national and international bestsellers. Sophie is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, two children, and dog.

  sophiehannah.com

  John Harvey has been a professional writer for more than forty years and his work has been published in over twenty countries. Winner of the CWA Short Story Dagger and the Silver Dagger for Fiction, in 2007 he was awarded the CWA’s Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In addition to his fiction and poetry, he has written for stage, radio, and television. He is the recipient of honorary doctorates from the Universities of Hertfordshire and Nottingham.

  mellotone.co.uk

  Mick Herron’s novels include the Gold and Steel Dagger-winning Slough House series, about a bunch of messed-up spies. His work has been nominated for the Theakston, Macavity, Barry, and Shamus awards, and Real Tigers won the 2017 CrimeFest Last Laugh Award. His latest book is London Rules. He lives in Oxford and writes full-time.

  mickherron.com

  Peter James’ Roy Grace detective novels have sold over nineteen million copies worldwide, have had twelve consecutive Sunday Times number-ones and are published in thirty-seven territories. Peter has won many literary awards, including the publicly voted ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards People’s Bestseller Dagger, WH Smith readers’ The Best Crime Author of All Time, and the Crime Writers’ Association’s Diamond Dagger Award.

  peterjames.com

  Donna Moore is the author of Go to Helena Handbasket—a spoof PI novel which won the Lefty Award for humorous crime fiction in 2007—and Old Dogs—a caper novel set in Glasgow (nominated for both Last Laugh and Lefty Awards). Her short fiction has been published in various anthologies. She works at Glasgow Women’s Library and is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Stirling.

  Caro Ramsay’s first novel, Absolution, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger; her second, Singing to the Dead, was long-listed for the Theakston crime novel of the year. The tenth book in the Anderson and Costello series will be published in 2018. She has a diploma in forensic medical science and edited The Killer Cookbook for the Million for a Morgue campaign, which led to her having an embalming tank named after her.

  caroramsay.com

  Ian Rankin is the creator of John Rebus and has also written stand-alone novels. He has received four CWA Daggers, including the Diamond Dagger, as well as an Edgar, and awards in Denmark, France, and Germany. He lives in Edinburgh.

  ianrankin.net

  James Sallis is best known for the Lew Griffin series and Drive. He has published seventeen novels, multiple collections of stories and essays, four collections of poetry, three books of musicology, reams of criticism, a landmark biography of Chester Himes, and a translation of Raymon
d Queneau’s novel Saint Glinglin. He’s received a lifetime achievement award from Bouchercon, the Hammett award for literary excellence in crime writing, and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.

  jamessallis.com

  Zoë Sharp opted out of mainstream education at twelve and wrote her first novel at fifteen. An autodidact with a love of language, house renovation, and improvised weaponry, she writes the award-winning crime thriller series featuring ex-soldier-turned-bodyguard Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox, and various stand-alones, including collaborations with espionage author John Lawton. Lee Child said of Sharp: ‘If I were a woman, I’d be Zoë Sharp, and if Jack Reacher were a woman, he’d be Charlie Fox.’

  zoesharp.com

  Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an internationally best-selling crime writer from Iceland, published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK. In 2015 she won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel and her novels have twice been selected by the Sunday Times as crime novel of the year. Her latest book out in the UK is The Reckoning, a novel considered amongst her best work. Yrsa is a civil engineer by trade and still works as such in her native Iceland.

  Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (1926-1975) virtually created the modern detective novel. Their ten police procedurals about Martin Beck and his colleagues were written in the sixties and seventies, and the series amounts to a literary treasure, which has influenced countless contemporary authors.